Are you good in remember names of videogame characters?

[Tatsu]

I have a very hard time remembering names and faces in real life and so do I with videogame characters. Sure you have the unique characters like Mario and Sonic but I have huge problems with the names and RGP characters. I know the main character in Final Fantasy VII is named Cloud and in Final Fantasy VIII it's Squall, but besides that I hardly remember any names. I think it's a bit sad because I've spend many hours with both games. And this is the standart with names in games.

When I stop playing an RPG for some weeks or even longer there is no chance I remember the name of the characters and if it's really a long time I even forget about the story. It's a bit worse with female characters, maybe because they are all a bit alike?!

So what about you, am I the only one facing this problem?

[THATinkjar]

I have no difficultly remembering the name of the main character in any game I play. Why? Because I *am* the main character. And my name is Jon.

[pragmatic insanester]

i never rename my characters in rpgs, unless he has none (ie secret of mana). i could probably round off a few dozen characters from the final fantasy universe during the 16 bit era.

[Sam]

Haha half the time I forget when I'm still playing the game. WHo's that dude? Have I spoken to them?

[legov8]

I know all the names for the Mario type games, and I know the names for most of the other games I own.

[GamerNerd]

I know every single chracter from all the games I played like Mario, Luigi, Zelda, Link, Ganon, Squall Leonheart, Tifa, Sephiroth...more later.

[kainemaxwell]

Most of the time no, unless its been a long time and I rarely used a certain character in say a rpg or whatnot.

[Vectorman0]

If it's a game from a series of games, yes, unless it's an RPG where I will probably only remember the name of the main character.

[RetroYoungen]

I tend to remember faces much better than I remember names. I can see a character I know, but I might forget just what game their from, and sometimes it simply drives me insane. x_x

[Tatsu]

Haha half the time I forget when I'm still playing the game. WHo's that dude? Have I spoken to them?

Hehe, that's exactly what I mean! It's not only name's of persons but also of places and cities. This is even worse... I always forgett the name of the different cities in the RPGs and which items/persons are in which cities. But it's good to see that I'm not the only one..

[Blackjax]

I usually remember them all... guess my brain is just wired that way.

That being said, you may want to avoid the Suikoden games... they only have 108 player characters per game, with some repeats game to game

[howdoin]

Just finished Jade Empire yesterday and can already barely remember the naes of the characters... plus everytime some NPC was mentioning someone in the game I was like "WTF !!! WHO? Am I supposed to know this guy?... oh yeah it's me "

No, I can barely remember characters name in most games, why? Becasue I have no attachment to the character.

This is also one way to spot great games - the ones where the conceptors make you CARE about the story and characters... why do you think you remember Zelda, Link, Sonic, Conrad (Flashback), Cloud, Aeris, Bub and Bob, Bonk...

[Dire 51]

I remember quite a few of them, mostly obscure ones that no one cares about any more.

[Tatsu]

Just finished Jade Empire yesterday and can already barely remember the naes of the characters... plus everytime some NPC was mentioning someone in the game I was like "WTF !!! WHO? Am I supposed to know this guy?... oh yeah it's me "

No, I can barely remember characters name in most games, why? Becasue I have no attachment to the character.

This is also one way to spot great games - the ones where the conceptors make you CARE about the story and characters... why do you think you remember Zelda, Link, Sonic, Conrad (Flashback), Cloud, Aeris, Bub and Bob, Bonk...

That's a good point. On the other hand Sonic for example has a very unique look. I guess this makes it easier for me to remember his name.

I've allready played Suikoden and finished it. Can't remember how I handeled it with all those characters. Maybe back then my brain was in a better shape...

[pacmanhat]

Matt Groening once said that the best way to make a memorable animated character is to make it so you could recognize the character simply by its silhouette. This definitely holds true with Sonic, Mario, Link, Cloud, Sub-Zero/Scorpion and other famous characters on the gaming side of animation.

When it comes to RPG's and other games where the characters are a bit more typical and generic, they become less easy to remember. Personally, I struggle to remember the names of characters from any second tier SNES or PS1 RPG, simply because the characters' images (as well as their stories/personalities) just aren't memorable and recognizable enough.